Posts tagged E-Prescribing
Even More Functionality Offers by MTBC iRx
Mar 14th
Now even more functionality offers by MTBC iRx . MTBC iRx—our Apple® approved e-prescribing application for the iPhoneTM, iPod TouchTM, and iPadTM—allows you to prescribe medications quickly and easily, from wherever you might be.
MTBC iRx is simple and intuitive. Learn in minutes how you can use the app to search for patients, view prescription histories, access chart summaries, submit new prescriptions and approve refill requests—right from your Apple® device. The app also allows you to:
- Receive automatic notifications of adverse drug, food, allergy or illness interactions
- View a summary of your successful, pending or denied prescriptions
- Receive automatic notifications of refill requests
- Call the patient or pharmacy, directly from within the app
MTBC iRx is available for download in the Apple® App Store.
DEA Establishes Final Rule on E-Prescribing of Controlled Drugs
Aug 6th
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has announced its interim final rule for electronic prescribing of controlled substances. The rule became effective on June 1, 2010, and it may be amended in the future depending on public comment.
Pharmacy organizations have been working with the DEA for more than a decade to draft rules for electronic prescriptions of controlled substances. According to the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), e-prescribing for controlled substances will likely not happen for at least another year. Nonetheless, the proposed rules are practical for pharmacists, prescribers and the DEA.
The DEA’s new rule manages electronic prescribing for both controlled and non-controlled pharmaceutical products, whereas before pharmacies were required to keep a paper-and-fax workflow for prescribing controlled substances. The rule also reduces the electronic record-keeping requirement from 5 years to 2 years and eases verification procedures.
Prior to the release of the DEA’s final rule, federal regulations prohibited the use of e-prescribing for controlled substances due to abuse and security concerns. The rule takes the first step in alleviating what many saw as a substantial impediment to the adoption of e-prescribing. Accordingly, the rule is expected to increase the number of providers adopting healthcare IT systems.
Some obstacles that will have to be overcome in e-prescribing for controlled substances are verifying digital signatures, standardizing procedures to change the strength (or any element) of a prescription and standardizing procedures to transfer prescriptions. The DEA will also need to establish whether it will standardize identifiers that prescribers use to write prescriptions for controlled substances.
For more detailed information on the DEA’s new rule, please click here.
A Quick Guide to e-Prescribing: Collect Your 2% Medicare Bonus in 2010
Apr 30th
Since the passage of MIPPA (Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008), healthcare providers across the country have begun to integrate e-prescribing into their practices. Under the Act, providers who successfully e-prescribe are currently eligible to earn a 2% bonus on their Medicare collections. Moreover, the e-prescribing incentives are structured in such a way that they will continually decrease over the next few years until they eventually become penalties:
|
YEAR |
BONUS | PENALTY |
| 2010 | 2% | 0% |
| 2011 | 1% | 0% |
| 2012 | 1% | 1% |
| 2013 | 0.5% | 1.5% |
| 2014 & On | 0% |
2% |
Nonetheless, many practices are still hesitant to make the transition. Though most of these providers would agree that e-prescribing is superior to the traditional pen and paper method, many feel that the incentives offered are insignificant compared to the cost (mostly their time) of implementing e-prescribing in their offices. However, upon closer examination, the requirements for bonus eligibility are not overly stringent or burdensome. Providers might be able to integrate e-prescribing gradually over an extended period of time and still qualify for the bonuses available under MIPPA.
How to Qualify for a Bonus
Pursuant to the guide released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), healthcare providers must do the following to qualify for the 2% Medicare bonus:
1) Obtain an eligible e-prescribing system—one that can:
- Generate a complete medication list incorporating electronic data received from pharmacies and benefit managers.
- Select medications and transmit prescriptions electronically in accordance with applicable federal standards, and only after warning the prescriber of any possible safety issues associated with the drug order.
- Provide information related to the availability of lower-cost, therapeutically appropriate alternatives.
- Provide information on formulary medications, patient eligibility and authorization requirements received electronically from the patient’s drug plan.
2) Report the appropriate combination of codes on Medicare claims.
- The physician must report the appropriate combination of CPT codes and special G-codes on Medicare claims—in order to qualify, the physician must report the appropriate G-codes for at least 50% of the cases in which they apply.
3) E-prescribe enough to qualify for a bonus!
- The physician must submit just 25 e-prescriptions throughout the entire year!
- The services the physician provided that can be linked to an e-prescription must make up at least 10% of the physician’s Medicare charges for the year.
With such minimal requirements, the transition to e-prescribing does not have to happen overnight. Physicians can ease into e-prescribing on their own terms and in their own time, and still take advantage of the bonuses available under MIPPA.
Have Questions? Ask MTBC now or talk to our Representative at (866) 266-6822